Heather Taylor - Zimmerman
Contact Heather Taylor-Zimmerman for bookings: heather@soulofcreativity.com
The drum echoes the heartbeat of the earth in our heart, atoning us to the natural rhythms of life. Come follow the beat of the drum on a journey of sacred healing for ourselves and earth.
Dear Drum Makers and Healers,
Join us for a powerful journey into the sacred art of drum-making—a soul craft born from the marriage of earth and sky, rooted in ancestral rhythm and deep ecology. This is no ordinary workshop, but strong medicine initiated by sacred land. It is a ceremonial pilgrimage into the living body of the earth, where you will create your own sacred medicine drum in communion with land, dream, and soul. What is your medicine for the world?
Held on over 20 acres of forested sanctuary nestled among madrona groves and moss-covered stone outcroppings, our retreat unfolds at an old Buddhist center that offers a sacred container for our drum empowerment dedicated to human and non-human evolution, healing, and transformation. Here, there are cabins and tents for rest, a shrine room for ritual, paths for forest bathing and walking meditations, and an art studio for soul and creativity to dance together. Surrounded by cedar and sea, your hands will shape more than wood and hide—they will shape an eco-prayer.
❖ The Drum as Sacred Embodiment
The drum is not merely an instrument—it is a living being, an ancient portal, a sacred container for rhythm and remembrance. In this workshop, we approach the drum as eco-psychological healing for ourselves and the planet, co-created with the living land, guided by dreams, synchronicities, and the whispers of animals and trees who step forward to become our companions. This is a sacred practice of listening, of tracking inner and outer calls, of returning to the embodied rhythms of nature and our own wild soul. It is a deep embodiment practice rooted in ancestry human and nonhuman, leading us back to origins and new beginnings.
❖ Who Does the Drum Serve?
Your drum becomes a mirror, a guide, and a companion on your healing path—crafted in devotion to the earth, yourself, and those you are called to serve (known and unknown, seen and unseen). Whether for personal ritual, family or community healing, ancestral calling, sound bathing, or trance journeying, your drum will sing with your spirit and the spirit of the land, wherever you go. For, the drum is a journey deeper into right-relationship and earth kinship.
❖ About Your Guide
Ok, who am I and how am I related to drums? My name is Dr. Heather Taylor-Zimmerman (just Heather), and I am a depth psychologist, artist, and nature mystic. I was initiated into drum making under the guidance of a Sámi elder, who, called by her ancestors, remembered and reawakened the ancient ways of drum medicine. I now carry this tradition forward as a living practice—rooted in soul, relationship, and reverence for the Earth. It is my favorite art!
Note: As a local elder from the Squaxin Island tribe acknowledged, we all have drums in our heritage as an archetypal tradition that brings us closer to ourselves, others, and the earth.
❖ A Five-Day Pilgrimage
Day 1: Arrival & Crossing the Threshold (on a ferry, woohoo!)
We sail across waters shimmering with sunlit vitality and framed by snow-capped peaks. Perhaps we will see orcas and kingfishers as I did last time, as our crossing marks a rite of passage, entering liminality and stepping into sacred space. What do you leave behind? What calls you forward as we arrive on this sacred land? This is both an individual and group rite, so what calls us together?
Sooo beautiful! On the ferry the wind washes our aura, and the sun ignites and kindles new life. Our one “task” for this first day is to “pick” or be picked by a drum hide to soak it overnight. I will pick out hides for us based on your input. What animal is calling to you: deer, elk, bison, goat, bear, bull, cow, or horse? Remember that these animals are already dead and that the drum extends and honors their life. The website for native drum supplies is below. Look at the kit and medicine pouch options, rattles, and more. Don’t be overwhelmed but playfully explore and intuitively know. I plan on getting a drum kit and medicine pouch for each of us based on your guidance and the hide’s whispers. They are beautiful!
Go to: Native American Hand Drums And Drum Kits | Centralia Fur & Hide
Nocturnal Reverie: Dreaming the Drum
As we transition into night, we welcome the coming darkness through meditation, embodied imagination, and dream incubation, as we open more fully to the animal, tree, and spirit guides that wish to journey with us. We will gather under the stars and in the inner sanctum.
Day 2: Crafting the Drum
Held in the art studio and under open skies, we birth our drums with prayerful hands, guided by intuition and ancient techniques that still flow in our blood. We weave in our story, vision, and intention along with sacred geometry and embodied empathy to birth our drums as a path of sacred vibration and connection. We will begin with a tea ceremony and smudging.
Day 3: Vision Quest & Power Circle
We journey inward and outward, walking the land and listening to its song. Letting go, we enter more fully into our own landscape to quest for a stick, create a mallet, and medicine pouch. In the evening, we dance, sing, and break our day fast in a ceremonial meal, sharing stories.
Day 4:
On day 4 we paint, decorate, and ritually activate our drums in a symbolic rite of passage, honoring their medicine and our becoming. This is where we listen to our drums and drum together. We will begin to explore their teaching and claim our voice as an empowerment. This is a literal and metaphoric act of harmonizing as we learn techniques to deepen our discovery, including a healing practice with ourselves, a partner, group, and tree/nature partner practice.
Day 5: Integration & Return
We close the circle with gratitude, sharing, and sacred drumming. You will carry your drum—your healing ally—back across the threshold into the world, newly attuned.
“We are the drum. We are the rhythm. We are the remembering.” – me
Throughout our time together, we nourish body and spirit with organic meals, meditation, community, and powerful practices of embodiment and belonging. You will not only leave with a sacred drum but with a deeper connection to the wild intelligence of your own soul and the soul of the Earth as we REWILD together.
Come, dear one. The drum is calling.
Amazingly sweet sleeping huts with private beds and a spacious art studio offer us sanctuary.
Workshop Cost & Details
Sacred Medicine Drum Workshop on San Juan Island
An eco-soul journey into the heart of the Earth and the rhythm of your soul
✦ Tuition and Sacred Investment
The total cost for this five-day immersive retreat is $500 plus drum supplies and a donation. If this is prohibitive, please reach out. This is almost all real cost, but we can still work something out.
$500 – Includes lodging in cozy tiny cabins or glamping tents and nourishing organic meals lovingly prepared.
$100–$250 – Drum materials cost depending on the animal hide and drum size you choose.
All hides and rims are ethically sourced from a Native-owned store, tanned with ecologically sound, all-natural methods using traditional techniques, purifying the materials for sacred use.
Ferry crossing as a built-in threshold experience.
An additional donation will be welcomed to support Bee Well Hive, the nonprofit I’ve founded with the bees and the breath of the Earth. This initiative is dedicated to eco-psychological healing for ourselves, our communities, and our planet, rooted in collaboration with the intelligence of the natural world. Funding helps to make this a sustainable path and bring offerings I have spent almost a decade creating people and a planet in need.
Additionally, if you’d like me to purchase a drum case to protect your new sacred companion on your return journey, I am happy to do so—just let me know in advance.
✦ Nourishment for the Soul & Stomach
Cooking is one of my love languages. I will co-create meals that are simple, sustaining, and soulful, holding us in care as we walk between worlds. The kitchen becomes an alchemical space of warmth and renewal, where each bite nourishes our deeper becoming.
✦ Frequently Asked Questions
Is drumming indigenous to my culture?
Yes. Drumming is universal. Every culture on Earth has had a form of drum or percussive ritual to connect with the divine, the ancestors, and the Earth. The drum connects us to the primordial rhythm of life—the heartbeat of the mother, Mother Earth. We all share this mother.
Why do we use animal hides?
The use of hide is an ancient form of respectful partnership with the natural world. All hides are ethically harvested from animals already dead, ecologically tanned (with other parts of the animal, for example), and purified through intention. This is not consumerism—it is communion. The hide is a way to honor and co-create with the animal in a way that extends its life. I believe the drums are alive and the animals live through it, blessing the world.
Can drumming really help with healing?
Absolutely. Studies show that group drumming reduces stress and increases immune function. A 2001 study by Dr. Barry Bittman showed immune function increased by up to 30% after group drumming sessions. Other studies show that drumming reduces anxiety, depression, and even PTSD symptoms. My favorite stat is that drumming increases our earth connection by 30%!
What if I’ve never made anything like this before?
Perfect. You don’t need experience—just presence. The drum is not built with skill alone but with soul. I will guide you step-by-step, holding space for each person to create their own unique power instrument.
Do I have to bring anything?
Just yourself, comfortable clothes, a journal, and any sacred items you might want on your altar. I’ll send a simple packing list closer to our time together along with some prep prompts.
If you have questions, specific dietary needs, or want to learn more about Bee Well Hive and how you can help us heal together, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly. I’m here to walk with you on this sacred journey on our beloved Earth.
With rhythm, roots, and reverence,
Heather
🌀"Let the beat of your heart awaken the Earth inside you."